Come Out & Play Festival Returns to NYC This Summer

The Come Out & Play Festival will turn NYC streets into a larger-than-life playground and showcase original games that will make innovative use of public space, inspire people to interact in new ways, or change the way New Yorkers perceive their city and surroundings.

The two-day event will start in DUMBO the night of July 21 (7-10:30pm) and continue on all day on July 22 (11am-4pm) at Nolan Park on Governors Island, for Come Out & Play Family Day.

New York City-based experience design firm ESI Design is the lead partner of the Come Out & Play Festival and also designed a game in which players use their smartphone to search for Walt Whitman.

“In an age when most games are played between a single person and a screen, people are hungry for live, social experiences where they can have fun with family and also meet new friends,” said Debra Everett-Lane, Director, Content and Activity Design, ESI Design in a press release. “The Come Out & Play Festival is a chance to embrace your inner child and experience the thrill and joy of playing epic-size games.”

Here are some of the games featured this year:

Higher than the Stars: A game about night as a space to explore identity (and what it feels like to sneak out of your house at night when you’re 13 to hang out with friends). Created by Playmatics.

Karaoke Riot: A giant karaoke sing-along under the Manhattan Bridge, in which two sides battle it out for vocal supremacy. Created by Gigantic Mechanic.

Starry Night: Light up the night by throwing out stars and trying to form constellations in this strategic mix of corn-hole and bocce. Created by Gigantic Mechanic.

Revenge of the Third Rail: Millions use the NYC subway system every year, but they are just passing through. What about the full-time residents of the subway system? Now’s your chance to identify with some of the most hated, lowly, and misunderstood creatures of NYC by stepping into their shoes (or bodies)—collect as many tossed-away treats as possible, avoid the train, and survive at all costs! Created by ESI Design.

Tough Bubbler: Think you’re tough? How fast can you run, bounce, and roll through a wacky obstacle course—while inside a giant bubble? It’s the bubbliest event on the planet! Created by ESI Design.

The Come Out & Play Festival invites game designers from around the nation (and beyond) to submit original games for the festival. The submission process is currently ongoing, and the final list of scheduled games will be available in June, according to the press release.